Global fashion giant Boohoo has pledged to ditch wool following undercover investigations of the industry by vegan charity PETA.
The Manchester-based fashion retailer, which includes the brands boohoo, boohooMAN, PrettyLittleThing, and Nasty Gal – told PETA ‘as of AW19/20, we will not knowingly source any wool products’.
Wool exposé
PETA has released 11 exposés of 99 sheep-shearing facilities on four continents, including in the UK since 2014, and says systemic abuse was found in every single one.
“The most recent exposés – recorded on sheep farms in Australia, the world’s largest exporter of wool – reveal that workers beat petrified sheep, mutilated them, and slit the throats of fully conscious animals,” says PETA. “One sheep kicked for nearly a minute after the manager began cutting her throat, and he said that some kick for a ‘bloody couple of minutes’.”
Compassionate fashion decision
“PETA is toasting boohoo group’s compassionate, business-savvy decision to scrap wool,” PETA Director of Corporate Projects, Yvonne Taylor, said in a statement sent to Plant Based News.
“Kind shoppers agree that no jumper or scarf is worth kicking, punching, and killing gentle sheep on the shearing floor, and we’re urging other retailers to follow boohoo’s forward-thinking example.”